


we accept the love we think we deserve

by fictionalexistences



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: a bit of angst, a bit of physical hurt but a lot of emotional hurt, but slowburn hurt/comfort, except sad gay pining, gay pining, kinda hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24206896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalexistences/pseuds/fictionalexistences
Summary: “Seriously dude! You could do so much better than some Mary-Sue wannabe who is obviously using just you!”“I mean, [redacted] isn’t wrong, but if it’s what you want…”It’s really not what Piers wants, but low self-esteem issues and not being sure how to tell your best friends that you’re in love with them will do that to ya.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers, background Mary | Marnie/Yuuri | Gloria, temporary Nezu | Piers/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The prologue is in Rai's P.O.V., but it follows Piers for the rest of the fic. Enjoy!

_Went from the bottom_

_Straight up_

_Tryina break the rules?_

_Yeah well tough luck_

_This world ain’t what it seems_

_There are a hundred, a thousand mysteries_

_And I dunno what’s life_

_If it ain’t filled with hate_

_-_ excerpt from a draft of an upcoming song, written by Piers

Piers didn’t text much.

Raihan, of all people, would know how little the Dark-type user responds, especially compared to Raihan's own messages. The dragon-trainer didn't exactly have a way with words, at least not like Piers and his songs and Leon's occasional speeches to his adoring fans, but he texted a lot. He had a lot of fun spamming their chat with photos of himself, cute wooloo gifs that he knew Lee would send to his brother, his own Pokemon, and even a couple recipes that he thought the Spikemuth siblings would like. The most recent text from him was a pasta dish, which he knew Piers would try soon to sate his sister's love of pasta. If he were to go and count each of their messages, they would probably have a 4:1 ratio. (Which isn’t quite as bad as Leon. They ex-Champion rarely has any free time with running Battle Tower and other duties after Rose’s arrest.)

So when Piers sends a link in a group chat to a PokéTube video, to say he’s surprised is a bit of an understatement. The Dragon-user immediately opens the link, and it redirects him to a familiar app.

The video isn’t anything special, just an album of what seems to be pop music. It’s kinda catchy, but not much different from the other songs on the radio. It’s also definitely not Piers’ style, which again brings up the question: Why did Piers send this?

Swiping back to their chat, Raihan reads the text sent with the video. It reads:

_Hey. Someone I kno is having a show next week & i was wondering if you wanted to go? Its not my preferred music, but I thought that one of you might like it._

Well, that explained some things. But it was still odd. Perhaps the ex-gym leader was just promoting a friend, but the music was unusual. Plus, Piers didn’t seem like the kind to promote music that he didn’t like. Either way, Raihan wouldn’t find out sitting there doing nothing.

_sure, sounds good. we could also grab a bite after?? catch up? we havent hung out in a while. wb u lee?_

Not expecting a quick response from Leon, the gym leader proceeded to go onto PokéGram, and liked a couple of pics of Nessa and Sonia in Hulbery. He was scrolling past a throwback pic of Leon and Hop when Leon responded.

_Depends... I’m pretty free this week. What day?_

Raihan smiled at the news. It was good to know that Lee has some free time. Piers quickly sent back a response.

_Saturday. The concert is from about 4-5:30 @ Motostoke. It’s gonna be near the Pokémon center, you can’t miss it. we can go to the battle cafe or somthig after_

The dragon-trainer smiled.

_sounds good! i'll be there._

He hadn’t been out to Motostoke in a while. It would be nice to catch up to Kabu and see if the city had changed much. The trainer got up, stretching his arms up. Raihan hadn’t seen his crushes in a while, so he had to make the most it. He cracked his knuckles and started his planning.


	2. the preformance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my ever so creative chapter titles...

_Your eyes haunt my dreams_

_You take me to the moon_

_And back we go_

_Always making me swoon_

_But I know_

_That wherever I go_

_You’ll always be… by my side._

\- excerpt of _by my side_ , a song by up-and-coming artist K. M.

Really, this wasn’t Piers’ kinda scene. He spent much more time on stage than in the crowd, squished between strangers who had all come together for one thing: their love of music. However, as much as Piers loved and appreciated most types of music, he would never be caught dead listening to this.

On stage were a couple girls, dressed in typical teen fashion. They danced a bit, though their stage presence was a little lacking. The pop music’s beat blasting from the speakers overpowered the sound of their voices, and Piers wasn’t sure if he was grateful for it or not.

If he had to be honest with himself, Piers didn’t particularly dislike this kind of pop music. It wasn’t terrible. It just wasn’t for him. Had he not been dragged there by his girlfriend, dubbed Ami by her friends, he would have probably been stuck at home wallowing in his self-pity. This was the slightly lesser of two evils. Said girlfriend had left him alone in the crowd, as she was currently on stage, singing.

It was actually how the two of them met. Ami had gushed about being a fan of his while he was in Motorstoke, and they began talking to each other. It wasn’t until Ami asked him out on a date and declared them to be dating that Piers had realized that he was probably way too in over his head. He knew next to nothing about being in a healthy, functioning relationship with someone. But Ami didn’t seem to mind the lack of affection too much. She had been a decent partner. Piers couldn’t help but feel guilty. What if he was using her to get over his long-lasting crushes? Even though that he could, in fact, see himself living with her as a significant other, he knew that deep down inside of him, it wasn’t what he really wanted. He wanted teal eyes and soft smiles and stupid caps and joking banter and-

“Piers?”

The black-and-white haired man’s eyes snapped up to look into teal, concern-filled orbs. Since he wouldn’t be accompanied by Ami while she preformed, Piers decided to invite Raihan and Leon to come with. Some part of him -the rational part, probably- knew that this was a stupid idea. Bringing your crushes to your girlfriend’s concert? It probably would make it to his top five most-regretted decisions. But he hadn’t hung out with Leon and Rai for such a long time, due their packed schedules. It couldn’t hurt to ask, and if they couldn’t go, well, he tried.

The duo were understandably surprised, as they correctly doubted that the same _popular music has been utterly destroyed by greedy companies and all sounds like trash_ Piers wasn’t one to enjoy pop. After he had explained and told them about his girlfriend, the two were, to say the least, shocked. Raihan started berating him with questions about her, while Leon congratulated him and said he looked forward to meeting her. It was quite awkward. Which lead them to where they were now.

“Hey, Piers? Seriously, you okay?”

Piers blinked, eyes focusing on the hand waving in front of his face. The dark-type user slapped the hand away, giving Rai an annoyed look while the gym leader smirked back. Leon had went to go get some refreshments, so Raihan and Piers had been left to banter and enjoy the music. Well, Raihan was enjoying the music. Piers would have teased him about his terrible taste, but he himself wasn’t quite sure how he felt about the songs that were playing.

Not bad, but not particularly good.

He listened as another song started up. It was one of their worse songs, and Piers audibly winced when one of the singers sang offkey. Ami was a good singer, but her songwriting skills weren’t the best. Unfortunately for his ears, Ami was given a ridiculously low part for her voice. She managed, but it still sounded awkward for the soprano. Piers had many questions for whoever arranged that. As soon as he thought that, he chided himself. This song in particular was rushed, because it debuted this concert. Plus, her label wasn't very big. It was barely heard outside the Galar region, and the only people who _knew_ about it in the Galar region were hardcore fans and people in the industry.

He checked the time. Thankfully, this would be their last song before they could leave. Unfortunately, that meant that Piers would have to introduce his two best friends to his new girlfriend. He idly wondered if he would be able to stall a little longer, say he felt sick or something. It wasn’t really a lie. His stomach felt like it would upend itself at any given moment.

The dark-type user heard faint whispers, and turned to see Raihan and Leon stage whispering to each other.

“I dunno, Lee. He’s just been staring into space for the past couple songs.”

Piers finally turned all of his attention to the brunette and cap-wearer. 

“You know I can hear you, right?” Piers gave them his best unimpressed stare.

Raihan smiled guiltily at the black-and-white haired man, though Piers knew that the cheeky bastard didn’t really mean it.

“Nah, I just figured that if your ears were broken if you enjoyed this shit.”

Piers smirked at that, retorting, “Says you. You love this stuff.” Raihan tsked, but Leon beat him to the punch.

“Yes, but we’ve already established that Rai’s tone deaf.”

The trainer in question raised an eyebrow at the comment, but seemed to let it slide. Raihan’s eyes drifted back towards the stage, glancing over all the bright lights and energetic dancers. Leon also looked back at the stage, though he looked like he wanted to cover his ears.

This song really was terrible. Piers would mention editing some parts of the chorus to Ami later, but for now, he enjoyed the short time he had left before he’d have to introduce his new girlfriend to his longtime crushes.

The concert was over much too quickly. Sure, Piers’s ears were thankful, but now came the moment he was dreading. Immediately, he felt bad for his thoughts.

Ami had been nothing but a good girlfriend to him. Great, even. The brunette was sweet and understanding. Piers _knew_ that. But as he lead Raihan and Leon, who were quietly conversing behind him, towards the stage, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. He knew that deep down, he was using Ami to fill some sort of hole in him. The hole that appeared the moment Piers realized that he wanted more from his two best friends. He felt bad for being so greedy, for wanting to always be with them, for wanting them to be his. And for him to be theirs.

He honestly didn't deserve Ami. Not one bit.

But as much as Piers desperately wanted to be enough for her, to let her be enough for him, he couldn’t. He distantly wondered if it was his fate to be forever unsatisfied. A part of him wanted, so, _so_ badly to confess. He always wanted and wanted; he should've been _doing_ more. Like Leon, who even after his losing his winning streak, never gave up. It was one of the thinks PIers loved about him. Raihan, too. The stubborn dragon-trainer was relentless in his attempts to befriend Piers, when they first met as the 7th and 8th gym leaders respectively. Back then, Piers wasn't as open, and his friendship with Raihan was probably one of the reasons for that.

It was all so frustrating, this cycle of wanting and regret and useless pining. The dark-type trainer knew that they didn’t reciprocate his feelings, but Piers still wanted to get them off his chest. And he knew that even when they rejected him, they’d probably still be friends. Hopefully. But if there was even a tiny chance that he could lose them, he’d keep his feelings bottled up until he couldn’t anymore.

_And if that means being happy with Ami, then that was fine._

Piers led them past a corner, and a shiny silver door stood just a couple feet in front of then, to the left.

_Well, here goes nothing._

Then, he pushed open the backstage door.

**Author's Note:**

> (Raihan may or may not be planning to steal their hearts like a phantom thief, but you didn't hear it from here folks-)
> 
> I noticed that all my fics have to have like 7 chapters?? I have an obsession.
> 
> ALSO. The lyrics are mine, and I kinda have a melody. It's actually longer than that (I have like two songs written for this fic 0-0). If anyone's curious about it, talk to me @a-fictional-existence on tumblr!
> 
> Kudos or comments, or both, are welcome!!


End file.
